I'll warn you in advance, I'm feeling verbose today! So let's get to it:
Katanas are great weapons! Maybe a little too good...
They make PvE a breeze, and have gotten themselves a bit of a negative rep in PvP since they're so good. But, at the end of the day, people will hate any weapon you're using if you beat them, so go for it. Although, honestly, the Washing Pole is a bit overkill. It's got ridiculous speed, reach and, when buffed, damage too. That's why I don't use it--I don't need anyone to send me hatemail to know this one is at least a bit OP. But if anyone complains to you for using the Uchi or Iaito, just ignore them.
Chaos? Go for it. It's an elemental upgrade like Fire and Lightning, so it'll make a good backup weapon to switch to when your buff wears off. Chaos > Fire, so really you should only concern yourself between Chaos or Lightning. In numbers, Chaos has a stronger damage rating, but it's real damage will depend on your opponent's armor, and most have more fire defense than lightning. This means that Lightning is actually probably stronger than Chaos... But at the end of the day, an elemental weapon is an elemental weapon. Pick whichever one, make it your back-up weapon, and forget about it! The only real differentiating factor is whether you prefer the look of fire or lightning when you strike your opponent with it! Most people get fed up with Lightning faster, so they'll go Chaos just so they don't see the lightning anymore.
Flamberge and Scythe are both good weapons. Flamberge has the same moveset as the claymore, a very competent one, with the added bleeding auxiliary effect. It has slightly higher stats requirements than the Claymore and deals a tiny bit less damage, and with its swing speed you won't really get any benefit out of the bleeding. But for the tiny difference in damage, you may as well go for the Flamberge if only because it's
not a claymore! As for the scythe (scythe or great scythe? Go for the latter), it's got a good moveset, and if you know how you can take advantage of its generous dead angles attacks (attack an enemy, not dead on but from the sides of your swing range, at such an angle and it'll bypass their shield--you'll get full damage on them even though they're blocking). With buffing, it'll also deal great damage. Problem is, it's an easy weapon to parry. The majority of your opponents won't know how to parry, but it's worth taking into consideration that some will. But in that case, if you survive the first parry, you could always change to a backup weapon.
Armor is a very complicated question. There is no end-all best armor in Dark Souls, let alone mix. The possible armor combinations are practically endless, they're all viable, and they're dependent on a lot of factors: how much End you have, what rings you have equipped, what equip weight % you want to be at, how much poise you want, and how much defense you can live without. That's why I can't really answer that question for you, you'll have to decide it yourself! Myself, I like to make characters with low End, 25% equip weight, and all I care about is poise, not defense. So I equip Havel's Gloves, Kirk's legs, Wolf Ring, and that's it. 77 poise, about 17 equip weight, little defense. Not knowing your preferences, I can give you a few tips:
- Havel's equipment has the best Poise/ Weight of all armors. Only they're non upgradable, so they'll have less defense than other armors of the same weight (Smough's, Giant's). Equip parts of Havel's gear to boost your poise.
- Light armors have no poise, but for very little weight they can give you great boosts in defense. Check out the Maiden or Dingy sets, fully upgraded, for best overall defense/ weight (Maiden's Robe +10, for 2 weight, giver
46 defense--23 def/ lbs!). Also, check out the skirts and dress leg pieces for excellent def/ weight (although, personally, I don't have any characters who wear skirts! Not my thing...).
- Round off the rest with Med Armor. If you're missing a bit of poise to reach your goal, or you have only so much equip weight left, check out this class to round off your numbers. I especially like the Dark set for great overall poise and defense/ weight. If you can spare a tiny bit extra weight, Kirk's set is practically the same as the Dark set, only it has the added benefit of damaging enemies when you roll into them. The damage is forgettable, but it does
stagger them, which is a huge advantage coming from armor (warning: rolling into some enemies, with this set, will stagger YOU! So be careful what you roll into).
Finally, Stats are also a very personal matter. They're so dependent on your own play style that asking others what they think your stats should be isn't a very good idea. My post's long enough already, so I won't comment on your stats. But, instead, I'll direct you to a guide I wrote on planning your own stats. I hope it helps (I'm sure it will
):
http://darksoulswiki.wikispaces.com/Character+Building+for+Dummies
by micii Sat Mar 03, 2012 11:02 pm
